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Bandai Namco has released the trailer for the next character that's coming stomping into RPG brawler One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4. As revealed back in April, Charlotte Smoothie has finally arrived to beat armies of hapless foes into pulp, pun fully intended.

As a commander of the LongLeg Tribe, Charlotte stands tall over all of her enemies, using her intimidating size, incredible reach and killer instinct to lay waste to the enemy. If being the height of a building wasn't enough, Charlotte's huge rapier ensures that her opponents are cut down before they can even get within range of the stunning warrior, demonstrated in the video below.

Pokémon Sword & Shield are still of the two most divisive games to release over the past year. A lot of what it did right it did very right, such as new Pokémon designs and the scale of the adventure players were sent on. But everything it did wrong still hasn't improved, even with multiple updates and paid DLC.

That's just one of the topics of conversation on tap in this episode of Podtoid. CJ, Dan, Charlotte, Chris, and Occams sound off on Pokémon, point-and-click adventure games, kangaroo people, SpongeBob SquarePants, bad demos, and more. All that, plus sex dolls in soap operas, on Podtoid Episode 448.

Inti Creates has announced that its recently revealed retro sequel Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 will launch on Nintendo Switch as soon as July 10. Budding castle adventurers can pre-order the title over on the Nintendo eShop, priced at just under $15.

Hello, Destructoid. It's Saturday once again and I hope that this week has been a good one for you. The world continues to spin on an awkward axle right now, but I hope you and yours are all doing all well as can be. Please stay safe and take comfort in the small joys wherever you may find them. You have already proven that you've got this.

My small joys? Well, being a beautiful socialite in 17th century France is definitely up there. And as such I took advantage of the Steam Summer Festival to check out the demo for Ambition: A Minuet of Power, which is a title I wrote about many moons ago and have been waiting on patiently ever since. In this visual novel, players step into the shoes of Yvette Decraux, a small-town woman with avaricious desires to be planted firmly on top of the food chain.

Like every other gaming event this summer, the annual BitSummit indie festival in Japan has gone digital. Known as BitSummit Gaiden for 2020, the two-day event kicked off today, and there is already at least one big announcement out of the show. Inti Creates, which revealed Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 at the New Game+ Expo earlier this week, dropped a surprise trailer for Azure Striker Gunvolt 3 at the show.

It was a struggle to get a full group together for the original Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles on GameCube, but Square Enix is putting a lot of thoughtful features into the upcoming Remastered Edition that'll make co-op gatherings a cinch on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android.

A free trial version called Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition Lite will let players battle through three dungeons alone or online with other demo users. Better yet, if Lite players team up with someone who owns the full game, they can play 13 dungeons together in their thrifty caravan.

Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition – that is, the full game and the Lite version – will have cross-play support across PS4, Switch, and mobile, so your teammates don't need to be on the same platform as you. Square Enix confirmed that PlayStation Plus and Nintendo Switch Online accounts are necessary for online multiplayer, and Remastered Edition has a save transfer option between platforms, too.

Today's soothingly-narrated trailer is a nice intro to this peculiar Final Fantasy game. I'm surprised by how much effort is going into the remaster all these years later. It shows, and it's appreciated.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition is launching on August 27, 2020.

We're probably on the cusp of one of the leakiest next-gen rumors finally being confirmed. For a long time now, there has been talk that Microsoft's next-gen launch will feature a family of two consoles -- the Xbox Series X that we've known about since December 2019, and a cheaper lesser-powered console that's still unannounced and codenamed Project Lockhart.

Thanks to a new leak from someone with a next-gen developer kit, we have further proof that Lockhart is still on the way. As detailed by The Verge, these kits have distinct profiling modes so that developers can test how their games will perform on the consumer versions of both next-gen devices. The Verge reports that Lockhart will have 7.5GB of available RAM, "a slightly underclocked CPU speed," and approximately 4 teraflops of GPU power; the Xbox Series X will have 13.5GB of available RAM and 12 teraflops of GPU performance.

Here's a tweet that helps corroborate the profile report (Anaconda was the codename of Xbox Series X):

After a recent delay to fall 2020, Supermassive has a new seven-minute gameplay video for The Dark Pictures: Little Hope, its latest choice-based horror adventure following Man of Medan and Until Dawn.

Straight up, this isn't the most riveting out-of-context clip, but I appreciate uninterrupted footage after all those trailers. It's just Andrew – a college student played by Will Poulter – wading through fog, inspecting a sketchy stick figure, and coming face to face with a 17th-century blast from the past.

Little Hope has a "creepy thing just out of focus behind the protagonist" moment, one of those "quiet pause turned fake-out jump-scare" tricks, and kids creepily singing nursery rhymes in the distance.

You know I'm here for this horror game junk food. Cutting-edge scares? No. Cheesy fun? Oh yeah.

At the end of this new (nearly) minute-long look at Netflix's Cuphead Show, the video's end says it's "coming soon." Hopefully this is one of those cases where "coming soon" means "coming soon" and not "releasing at an undetermined future date."

I am in love with Cuphead and I am also in love with the little bit of this show we've seen thus far. Today, we got a couple more peeks at finished animation alongside an introduction to a lot of the talent who's making it happen:

I admire the heck out of Vblank Entertainment's passion for porting games to outdated platforms.

We got an early heads-up about the developer's latest experiment thanks to an ESRB listing, but now it's official: Shakedown: Hawaii, a free-roaming overhead action game from 2019, is getting a physical Wii and Wii U release this year. This isn't a bit! Designer Brian Provinciano is going through with it.

In Europe, Shakedown: Hawaii is getting a 3,000-copy physical Wii launch on July 9, 2020, priced at $29.99. As he puts it, "the doors hadn't quite closed yet with Nintendo of Europe," so it was feasible.

Wii discs are region-locked, which is partially why a Wii U port of Shakedown: Hawaii – "the next best thing" – came to be. Provinciano says he "didn't want North American players to be left out."

Also, Wii U discs are just pleasant to hold. Love that rounded edge.

Here's the technical rundown on both versions:

Secretlab makes a good chair! Secretlab, now, also makes a very yellow chair.

I have nothing to say about this Cyberpunk 2077 chair that I didn't get out in the headline. Flip around on that bad boy and live out your wildest, ermmm, fantasy of riding a Final Fantasy Chocobo. When party time's over, pull a 180 and get back to gaming or blogging (which I am doing this very second in a Secretlab chair).

This isn't the first special edition Secretlab chair but it's definitely the most yellow. Other crossovers include Overwatch, Dota 2, Batman, Game of Thrones, Deadmau5, and a bunch of esports teams. 

Riding high atop an imaginary version of a mighty avian steed will cost a pretty penny. The mid-size Omega model is $450 and the larger Titan model is $490. Not like it matters because they're all sold out anyway. Maybe you can get someone to record themselves riding the Cyberpunk chair like a Chocobo and then pay for their Braindance.

Secretlab Omega Cyberpunk [Secretlab]

Wait, what? Hellraid, an unreleased Techland game about slicing and dicing skeletons, is going to see the light of day in Dying Light, the studio's unstoppable, still-hanging-in-there zombie title from 2015.

Dying Light - Hellraid releases July 23, 2020, for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Folks who pre-order the DLC (it's $9.99) can try a weekend-long beta on Steam that's running from June 26 to June 29.

The maniacs actually did it!

After messing with a suspicious-as-hell arcade cabinet, players will have to survive a "demon-infested dungeon." During runs, you'll be able to accept bounties for "additional prizes" and "improve your Hellraid rank to access new weapons you can also wield outside of the infernal realm."

Hellraid is a separate mode with its own progression system – playable alone or in co-op – and it lets you kick the shit outta skeletons, so that's pretty fantastic. Officially, this DLC is "based on Techland's currently-on-hold first-person dark fantasy slasher." Maybe it has a bright future ahead of it?

For now, I'm just glad the original concept work on Hellraid didn't go to waste.

How often will we see our own genitalia in Cyberpunk 2077, a first-person shooter role-playing game? I don't know, CD Projekt Red sure put a lot of thought into what our bushes look like.

As importantly reported on by Kotaku Australia (and importantly re-reported on here), there are five types of pubic hair in Cyberpunk 2077. However, it stops short of saying what those options are. Are these just hairstyles for your nether region? Are we talking landing strip, a V (as homage to the protagonist), and a giant wiry unkempt fur coat?

Surely, Cyberpunk 2077 gives us the option to take a laser beam to our junk. A laser beam is the only way to completely obliterate the follicle so that it's like a turtle shell down there. It's like that scene in Dead Space 2 but lower.

Here's the full breakdown of customizables by the numbers: "6 skin types, 35 hairstyles, 17 eyes, 8 eyebrows, 17 eyes, 17 mouths, 17 jaws, 17 ears, 8 bits of 'cyberware' (as well as no cyberware), 9 types of scars plus off, 6 types of tatts plus off, 11 piercings plus off, 5 types of teeth, 8 bits of eye makeup, 5 bits of lip makeup plus off, 3 blemishes, 3 types of nipples, 5 types of body tatts, 2 types of body scars, 2 dick types, 1 vagina option, dick size options, and 5 types of pubic hairs."

All those cool options and like half of you are just gonna pick a default-lookin' dude with a low-hangin' dick.

Everything You Need To Know About Cyberpunk 2077's Customisation [Kotaku AU]

A couple of weeks into its Steam Early Access run, Torchlight III is readying its first big update.

On June 30, Echtra plans to add Torchlight III's "third and final act" (Echonok mountains), the Contracts system (and Fame), and a nasty flock of "bird-machine hybrid scavengers" called the Voltura.

"These features will be accompanied by a vast list of fixes and updates to other areas of the game," CEO Max Schaefer said in a post on Steam. "Last I looked the patch notes are 18 pages long."

"It is at a time like this that I am thankful that we created a flexible game architecture that allows us to make profound changes in a relatively short amount of time. You're about to get the first taste."

From what little we know, the team is raising the "aggro range" for pets so they'll be more active in battle, dropping the Gold fee for the Reliquary to encourage players to craft and experiment with more Relics, and Lifebound is getting "a big update" and it'll be an "opt-in system as opposed to an opt-out."

Currently, some of the best weapons and gear pieces you'll earn for slaying baddies can have a Lifebound attribute. It's a trade-off – Lifebound loot is lost when you die. There's a rare-ish item to remove the effect, and I get the idea of making player death feel high-stakes, but in practice, it's unfun.

I still feel like Torchlight III has a long way to go, but it seems like Echtra is open to big reworks.

Bandai Namco has announced that the next entry in its driving simulation series, Project CARS 3, will launch August 28 on PS4, PC, and Xbox One. The publisher has released a sleek new trailer for all you speed demons out there, which you can check out below.

Project CARS 3 sees developer Slightly Mad Studios dial-down on the "simulation" aspect - just a tad - to allow for a more accessible "arcade" experience. That isn't to that say series fans shouldn't expect the beautiful visual style and precise mechanics that the franchise is renowned for, but that players who find the complexities of "real-world" racing titles a little over-bearing will appreciate Project CARS 3's more streamlined approach to burning rubber.

Ninjala just launched on the Switch eShop, and the CEO of GungHo online is already looking ahead.

Speaking to Eurogamer, CEO Kazuki Morishita says the game was born out of the idea of kids hitting each other with sticks outside (chanbara - you've probably heard the term before). Yes, sticks: while Ninjala seems like it could even be a Splatoon spinoff, it's actually its own thing centered around melee combat and literal ninja maneuvers akin to Naruto or Kingdom Hearts.

Morishita has even acknowledged the numerous Splatoon comparisons, noting that "the coloring and the style does look at lot like Splatoon," though he believes that it's "very different." Morishita focuses on the melee system first and foremost, while noting that Ninjala has a free-for-all battle royale mode.

Yet, he "admires" Splatoon, and wouldn't mind doing a collaboration one day with Nintendo. While it may seem like a pipe dream on paper, GungHo is veritable royalty when it comes to crossovers, and the current Switch exclusivity could get them in the door.

Gumplay - GungHo on the launch of the Switch exclusive [Eurogamer]

Taito has released a brief update regarding the upcoming shmup compendium Darius Cozmic Revelation. Regarding western localisation, the legendary publisher has announced that the title will be winging its way west on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch this winter.

Darius Cozmic Revelation is the follow-up to Darius Cozmic Collection and contains two more "modern" releases from the interstellar series' history: 1997's G-Darius (in all-new HD form), and 2010's Dariusburst EX: Another Chronicle +. Both titles will be revamped with new features, with more details to be revealed at a later date.

In the meantime, you can check out the new video below, which features a chat with Taito's Yuichi Toyama, who officially introduces Darius Cozmic Revelation while wearing a frankly amazing shirt. Darius Cozmic Revelation launches this winter on PS4 and Switch.

In case you missed it, a new Destiny 2 DLC pack just arrived on Twitch Prime. But while Twitch was coy about what it actually entailed, Bungie has the whole drop broken down on its weekly blog.

As the sixth reward in sixth months, you'll net an exotic emote cerebral explosion (like "the guy having a cosmic realization mind blown" meme), a really cool-looking flaming exotic Sparrow called "Burnout," a plasma Ghost shell (one of the coolest so far!) and Stellar Pavements, a legendary white and red ship.

As always, head to Amanda Holliday in the Tower to grab the gifts. Innocuous stuff like this is a much better way to grab optional cosmetic content than a lot of the in-game systems, so I'll take it.

This Week at Bungie [Bungie.net]

_{[This week Destructoid is brought to you by Urban Flow, out now for Nintendo Switch. Here's a word from our sponsor.]}

Urban Flow is a new Switch exclusive with an unusual premise. The game gives you a bird's-eye view of busy city streets filled with colourful vehicles great and small. These roads will quickly descend into chaotic pile-ups without your guiding hand. Your job is to control the traffic lights, restoring order to the urban sprawl at the flick of a switch. It's easier said than done, however. You've got to manage multiple sets of lights as traffic streams towards roundabouts, motorways and junctions -- whilst keeping an eye out for ambulances, trains, trams and even tanks.

Bandai Namco continues to line up DLC characters for its over-the-top anime fighter One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows. As spotted by newshound Ryokutya2089, one of the next in line to take on Saitama's might is his incredibly dangerous adversary, Garou.

Known in certain circles as "The Hero Hunter," Garou is a former student of the Hero Association expelled for his outrageous, rampant behaviour. Now firmly on the side of wrong, Garou dedicates his amazing martial ability and sinister mind to the destruction of the great and good, whilst still adhering to his own moral code. In a way, Garou could be considered the mirror image of Saitama himself.

Garou will arrive in-game at some point during the summer, bringing with him an additional scenario and character avatar pack. Around the same time, a free update will add a new stage: The Destroyed Arena. Bandai Namco is yet to confirm who will be the next hero to join the roster, but it is expected to be either Garou or Watchdog Man.

One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows is available now on PS4, PC, and Xbox One.

One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows Garou DLC announced [Gematsu / Ryokutya2089]

Folks are creating some amazing things for Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

While people doing things in the game has been a constant highlight these past few years, modders have also gone to town in the game, crafting silly crossovers and other such custom content. This new one from YouTuber Waikuteru really takes the cake in 2020 though. 

Watch the video a second: recognize that structure? It's the Sandship from Skyward Sword! As the fifth dungeon in the game it's also one of the most memorable, as its imposing design and Scervo mini-boss (which is a statue!) are burned in my brain. Dungeons truly were the best part of Skyward, and if someone made a giant sandbox that just allowed me to play that game's dungeons and nothing else, I'd be a happy man.

Anyway, you can watch the clip below and see Waikuteru romp through it in 4K60FPS. Obviously it's not exactly the same, as getting Skyward physics in and all of the dungeon bits working would be a gargantuan task, but it's incredibly impressive nonetheless.

Have you ever been in a Microsoft Store? Well, you may never get the chance as of today.

Posted as an update on LinkedIn just this morning, Microsoft Store Corporate Vice President David Porter has announced that nearly every physical store location is closing. In a sea of corporate speak, Porter calls this a "new chapter" for the storefront concept, moving toward an "evolution of customer engagement."

So what's actually happening? Well, retail employees will be transitioning to corporate facilities as the stores close down, and there will be a scant four locations remaining (London, NYC, Sydney and Redmond Washington) going forward. Microsoft is citing increased online sales as a chief reason for the shuttering, an issue that's plaguing brick and mortar locations at malls across the world (even pre-pandemic).

I've actually visited the Microsoft Store near me a number of times, and found them to be enjoyable experiences with welcoming employees. I never really bought anything there since it opened in 2011, but the Apple-aping concept was sound and the stores were pleasant. Goodnight, sweet prince: hopefully all of the workers who are impacted land on their feet.

A New Day for Microsoft Store [LinkedIn] Thanks Jeff!

After a lengthy wait period (approximately six and a half months) from the core launch of The Outer Worlds, Switch users finally got their port. But like most monkey's paw wishes, it was polarizing and in many ways, not optimized. 

While Obsidian worked on the core game, Virtuos handled the Switch version, and it seems like there's thankfully more work to be done. According to publisher Private Division, the Switch edition will be getting a new patch soon. Here's the full statement:

"Employees of Halcyon! A patch for The Outer Worlds on Nintendo Switch is in the works, and the team at Virtuos is investigating to further improve the game’s performance."

It's vague, but gets the point across. No timeline is given, but "soon" is a good bet.

Private Division [Twitter]

In case you missed it (haha how), The Last of Us II arrived on June 19, just last week. In that time, it's already become "the fastest-selling first party PS4 exclusive ever."

According to a new post on the PlayStation Blog, the sequel from Naughty Dog peddled over four million copies (read: "sold") from June 19 through June 21. This is just numbers from the first few days, not to mention the next decade or so when it inevitably gets remastered on the PS5 or PS6. You can read director Neil Druckmann's statement on the milestone below.

At this point Naughty Dog has a goldmine of classics under their belt. You know damn well that Sony will take any chance they can to remaster or even just re-release their entire library on future platforms given how evergreen Uncharted and Last of Us as a whole are. More power to them! I've said this recently, but it's still insane to me that they were once the "Crash Bandicoot studio" just a few decades ago and are still going strong.

After all these dour serious games though I'd love to see them return to the platforming game with a Bloodstained-esque "Crash-but-not-Crash" goofy project.

The Last of Us Part II sells more than 4 million copies [PlayStation Blog]

GungHo Online Entertainment's brand-new multiplayer title Ninjala is now live, bringing with it a stream of bright and colourful characters, cute over-the-top weaponry, and more bubblegum than you can stick a school desk to. And it seems things have gotten off to a lively start for the free-to-play Switch title.

As noted on the official Ninjala Twitter, Berecca and pals have already amassed an impressive one million downloads since the game's launch on June 25. Things were a little shaky at first, with problems pertaining to connectivity and certain lobbies, but the tech team has been on top of the situation and it appears that these creases are being ironed out.

Have you checked out Ninjala yourself yet? While not exactly Splatoon from a gameplay standpoint, a comparison in mood, colourful visual style, and party atmosphere is unavoidable. Hopefully this fun-looking game will find its own dedicated audience. If you've taken time out this week to get your gum on, be sure to drop us a note below and share your thoughts.

Ninjala is available to download now on Nintendo Switch.

We like weird games, and Overlook Trail, a "surrealistic dream exploration" adventure, fits the bill.

I can't remember the last time I strolled through someone's giant throat, over their squishy tongue, past their teeth, and dove out their mouth into a bowl of cereal. There's truly a first time for everything.

"Conceptually it is much like a collection of short stories or films, each with its unique style and game mechanic," according to Malmö-based developer Longhand Electric. Prior videos illustrate that point.

I'm a little late to finding out about Overlook Trail – it resurfaced on Monday as part of the Summer Game Fest showcase stream – but I'm happy to highlight it. There are too many games to follow.

This one's coming to PC and consoles on a not-yet-pinned-down date.

It's good to be king... or queen... or is it? Why don't you enter to win a copy and find out!?! Popular kingdom sim/rpg/decision maker Yes, Your Grace is making the jump from Steam to Xbox One and Nintendo Switch tomorrow (June 26th)! And we've been graced (heh) with five copies for each platform to throw at you peasants! KNEEL BEFORE ZOD! Wait... wrong thing, sorry. Anyways... here is your chance to experience a really neat (imo of course) story, and decision making sim, for free! Not sure it's up your alley? Let's watch a trailer: 

It has taken Bethesda a long time to get here, but Fallout 76 finally has a battle pass. That's the de facto for games-as-a-service types these days, and it took Bethesda about a year and a half to implement one. The first Fallout 76 battle pass is simply called "Season 1" and launches on June 30 as part of Update 20.

Ahead of Season 1, Bethesda detailed exactly how this will all work. It's a 100-rank progression system that plays out on a digital game board called "The Legendary Run." Every new rank comes with some sort of reward like cosmetics and consumables.

Achieving new ranks is filtered through Fallout 76's challenges system. Completing daily and weekly challenges nets you S.C.O.R.E. (whatever that acronym means). Enough S.C.O.R.E. and you'll go up in rank. It's not complicated, but it doesn't need to be. Bethesda mentions that it's revamping challenges so that they're more attainable. There are additional ways to earn S.C.O.R.E. like simply earning XP and completing public events.

As for rewards, Bethesda lists: cosmetic items, in-game currency, Perk Card packs, Atoms, Repair Kits, Lunchboxes (which give a 25 percent XP boost), Vault-Tec Supply Packages (bundles of crafting materials), and Fireworks (which apparently just look pretty). 

However, Rank 5 of the Season 1 board comes with an essential tool that will make life in the Appalachian Wasteland a lot less frustrating. There's an Ammo Converter that turns unwanted ammunition into bullets that you actually want to use. Through the Ammo Converter terminal, you simply select a quantity of the ammo you want to get rid of. That credits you with AmmoPoints which can then be spent materializing whatever ammo you need.

Blizzard is taking a slow and steady approach to talking about Diablo IV, and the longer this potentially-years-away game simmers, the better it sounds to me. The development team's quarterly update for June 2020 covers a big internal playtest, the open world, multiplayer, items, and other facets.

I won't recap everything – it's worth hearing this status update in Diablo IV director Luis Barriga's own words – but I'll highlight a few spots. Recently, the team "focused on blocking in all the elements in a region known as the Dry Steppes, complete with campaign content, open-world elements, itemization, a PvP subzone, dungeons, and a cinematic to cap the completion of the region's narrative."

On average, in this pre-alpha state, "team members took several hours to complete the campaign content for the [Dry Steppes] region, but those who focused only on the story finished the arc in less than half the average time (and were, of course able to do side content after that)."

Apart from PvP bouts and side-quests, camps – overrun locations that can be turned into outposts with NPCs – proved popular during the session. "For example, one of the camps in the zone was a town afflicted by a curse that turned villagers into piles of salt. Another was a crypt, haunted by a spirit that possesses the bodies of various undead – jumping from skeleton to skeleton until you defeat him."

_{A camp in Dry Steppes.}

Epic Games Store? More like Epic Free Games Store. Another Thursday, another round of freebies courtesy of Epic.

The title with the most brand-name recognition behind it is Stranger Things 3: The Game. This one is a co-op beat-em-up that follows the events of the show's third season. It's a decent enough game -- maybe a bit dull and unnecessary -- and the boss fights are supposed to be clever. It might be worth it just to see The Mind Flayer stylized for a retro game.

The other Epic freebie is AER Memories of Old. AER has you soaring across abstract skies, freely exploring ancient ruins to find the end of this shattered world. It's supposed to be a meditative experience similar to Rime or Journey.

(If the Epic Games Store really ain't your thing, both these games are a part of the Steam Summer Sale. Stranger Things is $5 and AER is $3.)

Is it that time already? It sure is. The 2020 Steam Summer Sale is here until July 9 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific with countless game deals, a "save five bucks if you spend $30" offer, and loads of animated stickers.

No, really – check these things out. They've got Geralt soaking in a tub. They've got an oh-so-squeezable chibi Arachnotron. They even have Kim from Disco Elysium showing off with a little dance.

_{The G-Man is tired of our shit.}

Aside from free daily stickers for just showing up throughout the sale, Steam is giving out points – 100 for every $1 spent – that can be exchanged at the Points Shop, which is "now open all year round."

"Emoticons and Backgrounds that were previously associated with trading cards can now [also] be directly acquired by using Steam Points," and "Items from the Points Shop are not marketable or tradeable." Players can tip points to other users for their reviews, Workshop mods, guides, and screens.

Steam will eventually "expand the set of things you can use your points on in the future."

Any committed Xbox Live Gold subscriber would've done well to buy a racing wheel by now. Nearly month after month in 2020, the biggest Xbox One freebie is a simulation racer. After a one-month reprieve, that trend is back.

Rally racer WRC 8 is the most notable Xbox One title in July's Games with Gold. You should be plenty acclimated with fast-but-cautious racing by now. This year, we've gotten: TT Isle of Man in February (a motorcycle racer but a racer nonetheless), Project CARS 2 in April, and V-Rally 4 in May.

The other Xbox One game sticks to sports. Dunk Lords -- which just released in March but with no buzz -- is free starting midway through July. It's seemingly NBA Jam by way of a hero shooter. It's two-on-two arcade basketball where players have special abilities. Maybe it'll be surprisingly fun for a freebie.

The biggest name of the bunch comes on the Xbox 360 side. Saints Row 2 (considered by some if not most to be the best Saints Row) is the first last-gen offering. Later in July, 2D mascot platformer JUJU takes over. As always, the Xbox 360 games are playable on Xbox One through backward compatiblity.

Here's the full Games with Gold breakdown for July:

Bandai Namco has a bit of housekeeping for Tales fans today. Not that we've seen or even heard much about the next game, Tales of Arise, but it's going to need more time. It's skipping 2020 altogether.

As producer Yusuke Tomizawa explains it, the developers are going big for Arise.

They're striving to catch lightning in a bottle – to deliver "a familiar but innovative gameplay experience to fans of the series, while pushing the technical envelope to deliver a high level of graphical quality to impress both long-time players and those who have never played a Tales of game."

"While COVID-19 has affected some aspects of development, we've done our best to adapt to the situation and have implemented remote development capabilities for our team. However, to achieve the quality and provide the gorgeous experience we envision for our players, we will need more time to realize that vision and therefore we decided to delay the launch timing for Tales of Arise."

Bandai Namco hasn't settled on – or at least publicly committed to – a new launch window. The game was previously announced for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. I'm curious where it'll end up.

Around this time last year, Tales of Arise had just leaked ahead of E3. What a year it's been.

Taito has announced that its cutesy arcade title Bubble Bobble 4 Friends will launch worldwide this November on PS4. In the west, the colourful game will be known as Bubble Bobble 4 Friends: The Baron is Back! Sure, why not?

The announcement was made in a new video by Taito's Yuichi Toyama and Bubble Bobble 4 Friends director Tsuyoshi Tozaki, with the duo also noting that the original Nintendo Switch edition has secured an impressive 100,000 sales to date. As previously reported, the PS4 port of Bubble Bobble 4 Friends will feature a host of new stages and features that were not included in the original Switch release. But fret not, as a free update will be applied to the Switch edition, adding in the bonus content.

Square Enix has announced that it has commissioned an anime adaptation of its urban fantasy RPG The World Ends with You, which launched on the Nintendo DS back in 2007, before being revamped for the Switch platform in 2018.

As of this writing, there have been no images or details released regarding this exciting new animated endeavour, but the anime will be receiving its official unveiling during next weekend's Anime Expo Lite presentation.

You can check out the action for yourself over on the Anime Expo Lite's official YouTube and Twitch channels. The Day One presentation will kick off Friday, July 3 at 18:00 PT / 21:00 ET / 02:00 BST.  In the meantime, Square Enix has opened an official countdown website, which you can find right here.

The World Ends with You: Final Remix is available now on Nintendo Switch.

Square Enix announces The World Ends with You anime adaptation [GoNintendo]

D3 Publisher has released the first trailer for Earth Defense Force: World Brothers, the voxel-styled EDF spin-off revealed earlier this week. The video begins with a brief overview of the series' storied history, before diving right into the pint-sized action.

In the two-minute trailer, we see a variety of different soldiers from the world's greatest fighting force laying waste to armies of ants, wasps, spiders, and other creepy crawlies across Minecraft-style replications of famous global locations. Battles take place on the ground and up in the air, with an array of explosive weaponry and even some ninja-based melee combat. We are also treated to a selection of fun skins, such as a rootin' tootin' gunslinger and a kawaii maid.

My, my, where did the time go? I've spent so much of this never-ending cesspool of garbage monster discharge we call June being disgusted with what I see online that I completely forgot I'm supposed to be proud for Pride. Ugh...looks like it's another June where I've let the gays down.

One person who is not letting the gays down is Square Enix artist Toshiyuki Itahana. Best known as the lead character designer for the Crystal Chronicles and Chocobo spin-off franchises, Itahana has spent his June creating a new company mascot for Pride. And here they are:

We've broken out of the port cycle and are back with your regularly scheduled original content Nintendo Download.

While Pokemon Cafe Mix is arriving on mobile devices alongside of the Switch and Mr. Driller Drill Land is also debuting on the PC; they're still launching on Switch today without a delay. Legends of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III is also a decent get for the Switch (that's out on June 30), as well as The Almost Gone, a sleek narrative puzzler.

There's a lot to sift through! Like the beloved Yes, Your Grace and a few other timely Switch ports.

Not every decision in Cyberpunk 2077 will depend on your gut instinct. There are plenty of situations where you'll be afforded the opportunity to review the footage, analyze it from all angles, and figure out what truly happened.

It's called a Braindance and it's more or less a reliving of someone else's experience. Once you have access to the Braindance, you can see it through that person's eyes or use a free-floating camera in analysis mode. The Braindance sensor picks up things that even the subject didn't, like audio cues happening nearby. The future is very impressive!

Essentially, Braindancing (it's a noun but I will use it as a verb too) is Cyberpunk 2077's evolution of detective vision that games like Arkham Origins popularized. It's a way to scour a crime scene with the benefit of forensics, making it easy to gather additional intel. In the example shown during this morning's Night Wire City stream, it's simply a means of finding who murdered the junkies who held up a convenience store. (They're not robbing it for money, they're doing it to sell the Braindance experience of committing armed robbery.)

The whole segment is shown in the timestamped video that's embedded above. Get the words straight from CD Projekt Red's mouth.

If you're wondering where this all came from, CD Projekt Red didn't make it up. Braindances were an established part of Cyberpunk lore before 2077 came along. Although they're quite complicated and neat, I will use the term to reference anytime I fast-forward and rewind through a video. (e.g. I Braindanced through that YouTube video.)

Even though it's been over four years since the first consumer Rift launched, Oculus is still moving full speed ahead with VR.

Although a lot of folks have thumbed their nose at it, VR continues to surprise me fairly often. We just saw it with Half-Life: Alyx and now Phantom: Covert Ops is giving the "AAA VR" thing a go.